Fortnightly - Energinethttp://www.fortnightly.com/tags/energinet
enDigest (December 2014)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/12/digest-december-2014
<div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - December 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1412-DIG-NationalAquarium.jpg" width="1000" height="643" alt="Baltimore’s National Aquarium would meet 40% of load via off-site solar." title="Baltimore’s National Aquarium would meet 40% of load via off-site solar." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1412-DIG-MandalayBay-Solar.jpg" width="564" height="420" alt="The 6.4-MW solar PV arrant atop Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino." title="The 6.4-MW solar PV arrant atop Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1412-DIG-SolarGen2.jpg" width="967" height="617" alt="Southern Power acquires Solar Gen 2 (150MW), to serve San Diego Gas &amp; Electric." title="Southern Power acquires Solar Gen 2 (150MW), to serve San Diego Gas &amp; Electric." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1412-DIG-Sony_eVgo_chargers.jpg" width="1000" height="600" alt="NRG eVgo charging stations at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City." title="NRG eVgo charging stations at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1412-DIG-EnphaseAC-Battery.jpg" width="707" height="444" alt="Enphase AC Battery provides 1.2 KWh storage and 275W/550W power output. " title="Enphase AC Battery provides 1.2 KWh storage and 275W/550W power output. " /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4><b>Renewable Energy</b></h4>
<p><b>DTE Biomass Energy</b> completed its 9.6-MW landfill gas-to-energy project at the Uwharrie Environmental Landfill in Mt. Gilead. Landfill gas at the site is used to generate renewable energy which is subsequently sold to <b>Duke Energy Progress</b>. The Uwharrie facility will more than double DTE Biomass' generation capacity in North Carolina, where it already operates six renewable energy projects.</p>
<p><b>OwnEnergy</b> entered into a long-term PPA with Yahoo. Under the terms of the PPA, Yahoo will purchase wind power to offset much of the company's energy usage in the Great Plains region. While Yahoo is one of the first tech companies to embrace this model of community-centric partnership, the trend for corporate purchasers to buy wind directly from wind farms is gaining pace.</p>
<p><b>Sunshine Gas Producers</b>, a joint venture between <b>DTE Biomass Energy</b> and <b>EIF Renewable</b> <b>Energy Holdings</b> through its subsidiary <b>Landfill Energy Systems</b>, started generating electricity from landfill gas at its recently constructed renewable energy facility at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. DTE Biomass Energy, the developer and operator of the project, declared commercial operation of the 20-MW facility at the landfill, owned and operated by Browning-Ferris Industries of California, a subsidiary of Republic Services. Landfill gas generated at the site will be used to produce renewable energy to be sold to <b>Pacific Gas &amp; Electric</b> under a long-term PPA.</p>
<p><b>Pattern Energy Group LP</b> announced a joint venture partnership with <b>Henvey Inlet First Nation</b> to jointly develop, own, and operate the 300-MW Henvey Inlet Wind project, to be built in Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. Pattern will own a 50% joint venture interest in the project, which has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Ontario Power Authority for 100% of its expected output. Nigig Power Corp., wholly owned by Henvey Inlet First Nation, will own the remaining 50%.</p>
<p><b>NRG Energy</b> and <b>MGM Resorts International</b> completed installation of the world's largest rooftop solar array on a convention center. Covering approximately 20 acres atop the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the 6.4-MW photovoltaic array will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 1,000 U.S. homes annually and is the first of its kind on the Las Vegas Strip. NRG financed, constructed, owns and operates the installation for MGM Resorts at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Through a PPA, Mandalay Bay Resort will purchase all the electricity generated by both solar arrays.</p>
<p><b>OneEnergy Renewables</b> and <b>Constellation</b> developed a 4.3-MW solar electric project located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The off-site system, which is part of an electricity supply agreement between Constellation and the <b>National Aquarium</b>, will provide power for approximately 40 percent of the Aquarium's electricity requirements for the next 25 years. Constellation will finance, build, and own the system.</p>
<p><b>Swinerton Renewable Energy</b> will standardize its entire solar fleet on <b>Locus Energy's</b> SolarNOC monitoring platform and PVIQ analytics suite as part of its SOLV enterprise solution for optimizing and managing plant Swinerton Renewable Energys. By leveraging Locus Energy's web-based SolarNOC software, Swinerton's fleet operators will be able to more efficiently organize and assess performance data over a set of solar PV assets spread across a geographical area, as well as streamline O&amp;M workflows. In addition, Locus Energy has expanded its data acquisition and presentation capabilities, enabling Swinerton to integrate data from its SCADA system. Swinerton Renewable Energy will also integrate Locus Energy's PVIQ analytics suite, to allow PV system managers to analyze system and fleet level performance and quickly identify any causes of underperformance.</p>
<p><b>Healthy Planet Partners, LLC</b> (HPP) and <b>Kyocera Solar</b> completed a solar rooftop and carport system at the Seattle Mariners Spring Training facility in Peoria, AZ. HPP developed and financed the project with partner Kyocera Solar to provide engineering and project management support as well as acting as a finance partner. <b>Sky Engineering and Construction</b> built the system using Kyocera's high-efficiency solar modules. HPP financed, owns, and operates the 345-kW solar array and the Seattle Mariners will host the system under a long-term PPA.</p>
<h4><b>M&amp;A</b></h4>
<p><b>Cleco Corporation</b> entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a group of North American long-term infrastructure investors led by <b>Macquarie Infrastructure</b> <b>and Real Assets</b> (MIRA) and <b>British Columbia Investment Management Corporation</b> (bcIMC), together with John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors (collectively, "investor group"). The agreement values Cleco at approximately $4.7 billion, including approximately $1.3 billion of assumed debt.</p>
<p><b>NRG Energy</b> acquired <b>Pure Energies Group</b>, a residential solar industry provider in the area of web-based customer acquisition. Pure Energies completes the residential solar capabilities NRG has been working to assemble and complements NRG's acquisition earlier this year of Roof Diagnostics Solar. Pure Energies and its proprietary customer acquisition process will help NRG Home Solar reduce customer acquisition costs while providing a simplified solar adoption process. Pure Energies' online capabilities also are expected, ultimately, to provide a valuable sales channel for NRG's Goal Zero line of portable solar and energy storage products and NRG's retail businesses (NRG, Reliant and Green Mountain).</p>
<p><b>Duke Energy Progress</b> filed with the<b> Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</b> for approval to purchase the <b>North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency's</b> (NCEMPA) generating assets for $1.2 billion. NCEMPA currently maintains partial ownership interest in several Duke Energy Progress plants, including Brunswick Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2, Mayo Plant, Roxboro Plant Unit 4, and the Harris Nuclear Plant. The Power Agency's ownership interest in these plants represents approximately 700 MW of generating capacity. In addition to the FERC review, the deal must win OK from utility commissions in North and South Carolina, along with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under the terms of the agreement, approvals must be received and the transaction completed by the end of 2016.</p>
<p><b>Trina Solar Limited</b> (Trina Solar) signed a share purchase agreement to sell its 10.6-MW PV power plant located in Trehawke, UK to funds managed by Foresight Group LLP (Foresight). The utility-scale Trehawke solar power plant utilizes 41,404 Trina Solar TSM-255-PC05A modules and generates 10,300 MWh of electricity every year.</p>
<p><b>Southern Power</b> acquired the 150-MW Solar Gen 2 solar facility in California from <b>First Solar</b>. The Solar Gen 2 facility is being built and will be operated and maintained by First Solar. Construction of the project began in 2013. Completion of the project is expected to occur later in the fourth quarter 2014. Southern Power will initially own 100 percent of the project, with First Solar agreeing to acquire a minority interest subject to certain terms and upon fulfillment of certain conditions. Electricity generated by the plant is contracted to serve a 25-year PPA with <b>San Diego Gas &amp;</b> <b>Electric Company</b> (SDG&amp;E).</p>
<p><b>Comverge </b>and <b>Constellation</b> signed an agreement to combine their demand response businesses serving commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) customers. The combined business will be operated as a new stand-alone company independent from Comverge and Constellation, and will focus on delivering a full spectrum of demand response offerings to C&amp;I customers across the United States. The merged enterprise will become one of the largest demand response companies in the industry. <b>H.I.G. Capital </b>will hold a majority ownership interest in the new company, and Constellation will retain a minority ownership interest.</p>
<p><b>The AES Corporation</b> entered into an agreement to sell its 49.62% equity interest in AES Entek Elektrik Üretimi A.Ş. (AES Entek), a joint venture with KOÇ HOLDING A.Ş. and AYGAZ A.Ş., in Turkey, to its partners. The sale represents 100% of AES' interest in assets in Turkey, consisting of 364 MW of operating natural gas and hydroelectric facilities and its interest in a coal-fired development project, for $125 million in equity proceeds to AES. Subject to customary regulatory approvals, this transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2015.</p>
<h4><b>Storage &amp; Distributed Resources</b></h4>
<p><b>NRG eVgo</b> completed installation of the largest corporate deployment of EV charging stations at <b>Sony Pictures Entertainment's</b> (SPE) lot and its offices in Culver City, California. SPE elected to participate in the eVgo Ready for Electric Vehicle (REV) program to provide turnkey EV charging solutions and charger maintenance and driver support 24 hours a day. The Level 2 chargers, dedicated for the use of individual employees, are compatible with all EVs and will integrate seamlessly with eVgo's comprehensive network.</p>
<p><b>Enphase Energy</b> introduced its Enphase AC Battery, an advanced energy storage solution with a modular, plug-and-play storage device fully integrated with the just-introduced Enphase Energy Management System. The Enphase AC battery, equipped with the S-series microinverter, will provide 1.2 KWh of energy storage and 275W/550W power-output. The Enphase Energy Management System, including the Enphase AC Battery, will be available through authorized distribution channels in the second half of 2015.</p>
<p><b>Southern California Edison </b>on November 5 announced the largest purchase of grid-connected energy storage in U.S. history. For SCE it marks the first time the utility has contracted with energy storage projects through a competitive resource solicitation. SCE will purchase 261 MW of energy storage resources - AES Energy Storage (100MW), Stem (85MW), Advanced Microgrid Solutions (50MW), Ice Energy Holdings, Inc. (25.6MW), NRG Energy (0.5MW) - an amount more than five times greater than the utility's minimum imposed energy storage procurement requirement of 50 MW, as prior order by the California Public Utilities Commission <i>(CPUC Decision 13-10-040, R. 10-12-007, Oct. 17, 2013).</i> At the same time, SCE announced separately it had signed contracts for power from more than 1800 final supply offers for a total of some 2,221MW in new energy resources (presumably including the 261MW of storage), representing roughly 10 percent of SCE's current total peak customer usage. The new contracts result from plans SCE had recommended in response to state forecasts of local reliability needs due to the closure of the San Onofre nuclear station and the anticipated retirement of older, gas-fired generating plants along the Southern California coastline that rely on ocean water for cooling.</p>
<h4><b>Nuclear</b></h4>
<p>The <b>U.S. Department of Energy</b> authorized <b>Bechtel </b>to resume engineering work at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant - a facility that will treat some of the nation's liquid radioactive waste. The resumption comes after progress toward resolving technical matters for the High-Level Waste Vitrification Facility, where the most radioactive of the stored liquid will be processed. The government contracted Bechtel National to build the multi-facility complex at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. The plant will turn waste into a stable, solid glass form using a process called vitrification. Some 56 million gallons of radioactive waste await treatment there, stored in 177 underground tanks. The waste is a by-product of plutonium production from the 1940s Manhattan Project through the 1980s.</p>
<p>The <b>Electric Power Research Institute</b> (EPRI) will extend its collaborative research agreement with Japan's <b>Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry</b> (CRIEPI) for an additional five years, through August 2019. The joint research effort will focus on materials science, including the performance of materials better-suited for nuclear plant components.</p>
<p><b>Natural Resources Canada</b> and the <b>China National Energy Administration</b> signed a memorandum of understanding on November 8 to advance collaboration between the two countries in the field of civilian nuclear energy, including development of advanced fuel reactors and exports to third-world markets. On the same day, <b>Candu Energy</b> signed a framework joint venture agreement with <b>China National Nuclear Corp.</b> to build its Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor (AFCR) projects in China, and to develop additional opportunities around the world. The joint venture was signed in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People, before Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.</p>
<h4><b>Transmission</b></h4>
<p><b>ABB</b> won an order worth about $16 million from <b>Energinet.dk</b>, the transmission system operator in Denmark and <b>50 Hertz</b>, the transmission system operator responsible for the eastern part of Germany, to upgrade the 600-MW Kontek HVDC transmission link. The project scope includes installation of ABB's MACH control and protection system, remote operator work stations, training and spare parts. The link was originally delivered by ABB in 1995 and the modernization will help enhance the operational reliability of the link and reduce maintenance needs. The upgraded link is scheduled to go into full operation in 2016.</p>
<p><b>Burns &amp; McDonnell</b> plans to develop a grid stability awareness system (GSAS), a package of analytical software that will allow utilities to better utilize advanced synchrophasor technology. The joint project with <b>Southern Company</b> is part of a comprehensive program recently announced by the <b>U.S. Department of Energy</b> (DOE) to improve the resilience and reliability of the national power grid. The DOE will partially fund the project with a $1.4 million grant, which will be matched by $1.5 million in additional funding from the project participants. The project is part of an overall $10 million program announced recently by the DOE. The project is expected to be complete within two years.</p>
<p><b>ABB</b> won an order worth around $10 million from <b>Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Ltd</b> (TANTRANSCO), the state-owned utility, to build a new substation in downtown Chennai, India. As part of the turnkey contract, ABB will design, supply, install and commission the substation. Key product supplies include nine bays of 230 kV GIS, power transformers and 23 indoor switchgear units rated at 33 kV. The substations will also be equipped with IEC 61850 based open protection, automation and telecommunication systems as well as ancilliary systems. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.</p>
<h4><b>Fossil Generation</b></h4>
<p>The world's first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) process on a coal-fired power plant officially opened at Boundary Dam Power Station in Estevan, Saskatchewan. When fully optimized, <b>SaskPower's</b> new process will capture up to a million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The captured carbon dioxide will be used for enhanced oil recovery, with the remainder stored safely and permanently deep underground and continuously monitored.</p>
<p><b>NET Power</b> secured funding and agreements for its $140 million, 50-MW demonstration power plant, that produces no greenhouse gas emissions and includes full carbon capture without requiring carbon capture equipment. The project is funded by a combination of cash and in-kind contributions from <b>Exelon</b> and <b>CB&amp;I</b>. <b>Toshiba</b> has begun manufacturing a CO<sub>2</sub> turbine for the project. Operations, maintenance and development arrangements have been completed with Exelon. EPC contracts are in place with CB&amp;I. The plant will be built at a site in Texas, with commissioning expected to begin in 2016 and be completed in 2017.</p>
<p><b>Xcel Energy</b> notified Minnesota regulators and <b>MISO</b> of its intent to stop generating electricity with coal at its Black Dog plant in Burnsville in April 2015, due to changing environmental regulations. The notification is the last step in a multi-year resource planning process. Black Dog's two coal units currently generate 232 MW of electricity. The company will continue to operate the 300-MW natural gas unit located at the Black Dog site. The coal units' retirement will trigger a multi-year decommissioning project. Starting in 2015, Xcel Energy will begin to remove coal handling equipment and close the coal yard and ash pond areas.</p>
<h4><b>Energy Efficiency</b></h4>
<p><b>The U.S. Department of Energy</b> (DOE) and the <b>DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory</b> (NREL) published additional protocols for estimating energy savings for residential and commercial energy efficiency programs and measures. The new protocols address the following measures: chillers, commercial new construction and retro­commissioning. In addition to these protocols, the project has published a report that focuses on the methods used to estimate net energy savings in evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&amp;V) studies for energy efficiency (EE) programs. Over time, DOE believes the effort will help reduce the cost of program evaluation, measurement, and verification and improve deemed savings estimates used in technical reference manuals across the country.</p>
<p><b>Governor Andrew M. Cuomo</b> announced the launch of NY Energy Manager (NYEM), New York's first energy management network operations center to provide public facilities across the state with real-time data on their energy use. The center is located at the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany. The NYEM was developed and is being deployed and managed by the <b>New York Power Authority</b> (NYPA) to provide up-to-the-moment energy use information and trending in state government facilities and other entities such as the City University of New York.</p>
<h4><b>Distribution</b></h4>
<p><b>Pepco Holdings Inc.</b> (PHI) entered into an enterprise-wide license agreement to deploy a comprehensive grid analytics solution from <b>Landis+Gyr </b>across its service territories. The analytics package includes a suite of applications aimed at enhancing asset life, reliability and distribution system optimization. PHI's operating companies, including Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric, will deploy six different analytics applications for visualization, planning and real-time operational analytics support. PHI announced the deployment earlier this year of the GRIDplan Reliability module that is part of the analytics suite developed by <b>GRIDiant</b>, which was acquired in June by Landis+Gyr.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/generation-markets">Generation &amp; Markets</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/nuclear">Nuclear</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/renewables">Renewables</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3"><a href="/article-categories/transmission">Transmission</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/digest">Digest</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/dte-biomass">DTE Biomass</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke">Duke</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ownenergy">OwnEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/yahoo">Yahoo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sunshine-gas">Sunshine Gas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/eif-renewable">EIF Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/landfill-energy">Landfill Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacific-gas-and-electric">Pacific Gas and Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pattern-energy">Pattern Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/henvey-inlet">Henvey Inlet</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/first-nation">First Nation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrg-energy">NRG Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mgm-resorts">MGM Resorts</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oneenergy-renewables">OneEnergy Renewables</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation">Constellation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/national-aquarium">National Aquarium</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/swinerton-renewable">Swinerton Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/locus">Locus</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/healthy-planet-partners">Healthy Planet Partners</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kyocera-solar">Kyocera Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sky-engineering">Sky Engineering</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cleco">Cleco</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/macquarie-infrastructure">Macquarie Infrastructure</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/british-columbia-investment">British Columbia Investment</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mira">MIRA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bcimc">bcIMC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pure-energies">Pure Energies</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/federal-energy-regulatory-commission">Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/north-carolina">North Carolina</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ncempa">NCEMPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/trina-solar">Trina Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-power">Southern Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/first-solar">First Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/san-diego">San Diego</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/comverge">Comverge</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hig-capital-0">H.I.G. Capital</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aes-corporation">AES Corporation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pepco-holdings">Pepco Holdings</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/landisgyr">Landis+Gyr</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrg-evgo">NRG eVgo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sony-pictures">Sony Pictures</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/enphase-energy">Enphase Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-california">Southern California</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/us-department-energy-0">US Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bechtel">Bechtel</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research">Electric Power Research</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epri">EPRI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/central-research-institute">Central Research Institute</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/natural-resources-canada">Natural Resources Canada</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/china-national">China National</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/candu-energy">Candu Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/abb">ABB</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energinet">Energinet</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/50-hertz">50 Hertz</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/burns-mcdonnell">Burns &amp; McDonnell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-company">Southern Company</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/saskpower">SaskPower</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/net-power">NET Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/exelon">Exelon</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cbi">CB&amp;I</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/toshiba">Toshiba</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/xcel">Xcel</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/miso">MISO</a> </div>
</div>
Thu, 11 Dec 2014 01:19:27 +0000meacott18656 at http://www.fortnightly.comDealing With the Duckhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Designing markets to accommodate variable resources.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Mike Hogan and Bentham Paulos</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b style="line-height: 1.538em;">Michael Hogan</b><span style="line-height: 1.538em;"> is a senior advisor for the Regulatory Assistance Project. Bentham Paulos serves as project manager for the America’s Power Plan project. <a href="http://www.americaspowerplan.org/">http://www.americaspowerplan.org/</a></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - January 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-ERM%20fig1.jpg" width="1364" height="1067" alt="Figure 1 - California’s Duck Curve" title="Figure 1 - California’s Duck Curve" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-ERM%20fig2.jpg" width="1362" height="741" alt="Figure 2 - Denmark: Total Demand" title="Figure 2 - Denmark: Total Demand" /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-ERM%20fig3.jpg" width="1360" height="745" alt="Figure 3 - Denmark: Total Demand Minus Wind" title="Figure 3 - Denmark: Total Demand Minus Wind" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-ERM%20fig4.jpg" width="1360" height="713" alt="Figure 4 - Denmark – Total Demand Minus Local Generation" title="Figure 4 - Denmark – Total Demand Minus Local Generation" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Customer demand for new energy technologies is hitting a brick wall of regulatory systems designed for the last century. This is especially true in the design of power markets. </p>
<p>Renewables and demand-side technologies have some features that will disrupt traditional energy markets as they grow. As a package, they present a very different way of running the grid, with greater efficiency, energy security, and lower emissions. But market designs need to evolve to accommodate innovation and clean energy. </p>
<h4>Meet The Duck</h4>
<p>The rapid growth of solar power is causing regulators in California to plan for change. </p>
<p>A typical daily demand curve in California rises in the morning as people wake and go to work, it peaks in the afternoon as air conditioners kick in, and it hits a second, highest peak in the early evening, as workers come home to their dinner and TV.</p>
<p>Solar, of course, produces power with the movement of the sun, peaking in the afternoon, and falling toward sunset. A growing solar supply will take an increasingly large bite out of the afternoon power demand, but have a lesser effect on that early evening peak. The California grid operator has projected the “net demand” – the amount of power demand remaining to be met by non-solar sources – through 2020, and came up with a shape that was instantly dubbed The Duck.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#1" title="1. The widely circulated “duck curve” in actuality represents a “shoulder period” day and is therefore, over the near term, a somewhat extreme case, however it amply illustrates the fundamental issue.">1</a></sup></b> Picture a demand curve, with its head in the early evening. The more solar grows, the bigger the duck’s belly gets. (<i>See Figure 1</i>).</p>
<p>The duck-shaped evolution of the net demand curve will have a few implications for grid operations. First, the rising net demand in the afternoon will be bigger than it is now, increasing the need for fast-acting generators or demand-side measures, like demand response and energy efficiency. While some see this as a major problem, others aren’t so sure. One participant at a meeting of California regulators remarked, “I could take the head off that duck. Just give me some demand response.” </p>
<p>Markets need to do a better job of shifting value to more flexible resources capable of responding efficiently to these changing conditions. Energy efficiency programs focused on the elements of that evening peak could permanently bring down the head. Dynamic pricing – <i>e.g.,</i> power prices that reflect actual real-time market conditions – can provide incentives for consumers (or for innovative companies providing services to consumers) to reduce and shift the demand. Energy storage can be charged up in the middle of the day and deployed in the evening hours. Solar panels can even be pointed more westerly, toward the setting sun.</p>
<h4>Winds of Change</h4>
<p>While The Duck describes what can happen in a typical day due to solar power, wind power is already causing disruptive impacts in some places.</p>
<p>Denmark is one of those places, with 30 percent of its total electricity from the wind in 2012 and a goal of 50 percent by 2020.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#2" title="2. http://cleantechnica.com/2013/02/01/wind-energy-hits-over-30-of-denmarks-electricity-consumption-at-end-of-2012/">2</a></sup></b></p>
<p>The increased need for flexibility is illustrated in a particularly vivid manner in the figures below, showing data from Energinet, the Danish grid operator. The top graph shows a total (gross) demand curve for January and February. The second graph subtracts wind power to show the net demand remaining to be met.</p>
<p>Wind power during these windy winter months at times produced more than the total demand – peaking at 111 percent on February 25. Changes in wind output caused ramps that were much larger than ramps in the gross demand, though not more abrupt. </p>
<p>The remaining local generation came from coal plants (53 percent) and CHP (20 percent). While the CHP systems did some load following with their power output, they were needed to provide heat for district heating installations, so were considered must-run plants. Dispatchable coal power plants ramped up and down in response to the wind power output, but never cycled off completely, since they can’t easily be brought back online and in many cases they also serve heat loads.</p>
<p>Instead, it made the most sense to use the greater Scandinavian and German grid for an optimized dispatch. The third graph shows the total remaining demand after subtracting all local production – in other words, net imports and exports with neighbors. Denmark shares power with other Nordic countries, especially with Norwegian hydropower, which it tracks in real time.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#3" title="3. http://www.energinet.dk/Flash/Forside/UK/index.html">3</a></sup></b> (<i>See Figures 2, 3, and 4</i>).</p>
<p>This Danish case study provides a number of lessons for integrating renewables. First, it is obviously possible, since it’s being done today with high reliability. Second, the flexibility needed can come in many forms, from dispatchable power to larger balancing areas. There is very little energy storage or demand response in the Danish system; these will help in the future as Denmark approaches its 50 percent wind goal.</p>
<p>It also shows the need for a different way of thinking about power supply and a different way of paying for it.</p>
<p>In a power system with traditional dispatchable generators, demand is met by a mix of so-called baseload, mid-merit, and peaker plants. But in the Danish example, there’s little room for an always-on baseload plant, since cheaper wind power forces it out of the way and operationally more flexible plants are more useful to the system. While “baseload” is used by some as a synonym for “dependable,” an inflexible baseload plant could be more of a liability than an asset in an increasingly renewable future.</p>
<p>What’s needed instead are flexible resources that can match the ups and downs of both demand and wind power output, and meet the net demand. These can be fast-acting mid-merit and peaking plants, but also demand-side technologies like demand response and storage. There are even experiments underway to use excess electricity to make other products, like synthetic fertilizer.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#4" title="4. http://www.agmrc.org/renewable_energy/ethanol/using-the-wind-to-fertilize-corn">4</a></sup></b></p>
<p>The Hawaiian island of Kauai<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#5" title="5. http://website.kiuc.coop/content/official-kiuc-press-releases">5</a></sup></b> is another laboratory for this kind of future. Hawaii is almost completely dependent on imported oil for all of its energy. With retail power rates in excess of 40 cents per kWh, customers on Kauai are eager to go solar, installing 1,500 systems in the past two years and helping move toward an official goal of 50 percent renewables in 10 years. With solar its most unlimited and scalable resource, the utility is thinking of “offering rates to encourage customers to use electricity during the day, when power is being produced more cheaply,” such as for charging electric cars. This way they can use solar to displace oil in both transportation and power production.</p>
<h4>Small Balancing Areas</h4>
<p>While Hawaii has unique issues as an island state, it isn’t the only island in the U.S. power system. </p>
<p>As utilities in some regions evolve from self-supporting monopolies to competitive players, their operating areas are being merged to promote competition and lower the cost of operations. It’s cheaper to consolidate balancing areas and share resources than to operate as an island. This is especially true with renewables, which introduce more variability into the system.</p>
<p>But parochial market interests in other regions have been getting in the way. Xcel Energy executive Judy Poferl described<b><b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#6" title="6. http://www.midwesterngovernors.org/Transmission/2011/Poferl.pdf">6</a></sup></b> in 2011 how the company was dealing with wind power. At the time, Xcel had about 3,000 MW of wind spread across its three operating systems. The northern system had over 1,200 MW but is in MISO, an integrated regional system with a footprint of 116,000 MW. The southern system had 650 MW but is in SPP, with a pool of 46,000 MW. </b></p>
<p><b>In these big regional markets integration is simple, just a ripple in a big pond. But in Colorado, with no regional market and limited cooperation between neighboring utilities, Xcel was dealing with 1,200 MW of wind in a system of only 7,900 MW. When the wind is high and demand is low, Xcel’s Colorado system has gotten as much as 55.6 percent<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#7" title="7. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19342896">7</a></sup></b> of its power from wind. </b></p>
<p><b>And Xcel isn’t done with wind. The company recently announced a 50-percent boost in wind capacity<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#8" title="8. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/24/2520551/upper-midwest-windfarm/">8</a></sup></b> across its three regions.</b></p>
<p><b>Small operating regions drive up costs and reduce reliability. Denmark, as part of a greater regional grid, regularly exceeds 100 percent of national demand with wind power with no problems. The easiest solution for Xcel would be to share operations with its neighbors. Some utilities in the West are beginning to move toward a solution, adopting an “energy imbalance market,” which makes it easier and cheaper to balance the system but stops short of a competitive power market.</b></p>
<h4><b>Matching Money to Need<b><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></b></b></h4>
<p><b>Huge amounts of wind and solar will transform market dynamics. They can turn the typical perception of power costs on its head, reshaping demand and prices. </b></p>
<p><b>The key need now is flexibility. Markets have been designed to pay for energy and, in some cases, capacity, but current designs are not as good at paying for the services that will valuable for integrating renewables. </b></p>
<p><b>America’s Power Plan describes a number of options for aligning power markets with technological growth.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/dealing-duck?page=0%2C3#9" title="9. http://americaspowerplan.com/the-plan/power-markets/">9</a></sup></b> Market designs will have to evolve to provide the proper incentives for flexibility. We need to make markets larger and faster, treat demand-side options the same as supply-side, open the market to more participants, and buy the services needed to run the grid in a more renewable future. This can include paying for fast-ramping services; creating more accurate price signals that mean more money for resources that are flexible and fast-acting and less money for those that aren’t; and allowing demand response to bid into energy, services, and capacity markets.</b></p>
<p><b>Once we match the way money flows in the markets more accurately to the needs of the system, the move toward a clean energy future will be much smoother, cheaper, and more secure.</b></p>
<h4><b>Endnotes:</b></h4>
<p><b><a name="1" id="1"></a>1. The widely circulated “duck curve” in actuality represents a “shoulder period” day and is therefore, over the near term, a somewhat extreme case, however it amply illustrates the fundamental issue.</b></p>
<p><b><a name="2" id="2"></a>2. <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2013/02/01/wind-energy-hits-over-30-of-denmarks-electricity-consumption-at-end-of-2012/" target="_blank">http://cleantechnica.com/2013/02/01/wind-energy-hits-over-30-of-denmarks-electricity-consumption-at-end-of-2012/</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="3" id="3"></a>3. <a href="http://www.energinet.dk/Flash/Forside/UK/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.energinet.dk/Flash/Forside/UK/index.html</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="4" id="4"></a>4. <a href="http://www.agmrc.org/renewable_energy/ethanol/using-the-wind-to-fertilize-corn" target="_blank">http://www.agmrc.org/renewable_energy/ethanol/using-the-wind-to-fertilize-corn</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="5" id="5"></a>5. <a href="http://website.kiuc.coop/content/official-kiuc-press-releases" target="_blank">http://website.kiuc.coop/content/official-kiuc-press-releases</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="6" id="6"></a>6. <a href="http://www.midwesterngovernors.org/Transmission/2011/Poferl.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.midwesterngovernors.org/Transmission/2011/Poferl.pdf</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="7" id="7"></a>7. <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19342896" target="_blank">http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19342896</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="8" id="8"></a>8. <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/24/2520551/upper-midwest-windfarm/" target="_blank">http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/24/2520551/upper-midwest-windfarm/</a></b></p>
<p><b><a name="9" id="9"></a>9. <a href="http://americaspowerplan.com/the-plan/power-markets/" target="_blank">http://americaspowerplan.com/the-plan/power-markets/</a></b></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/energy-policy-legislation">Energy Policy &amp; Legislation</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/renewables">Renewables</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/strategy-planning">Strategy &amp; Planning</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/energy-risk-markets">Energy Risk &amp; Markets</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-ERM.jpg" width="1063" height="598" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/california-iso">California ISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duck-curve">duck curve</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-technologies">Energy technologies</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/demand-curve">demand curve</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energinet">Energinet</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/coal">coal</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chp">CHP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/german">German</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/denmark">Denmark</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kauai">Kauai</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hawaii">Hawaii</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/xcel">Xcel</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/judy-poferl">Judy Poferl</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/colorado">Colorado</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mike-hogan">Mike Hogan</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ben-paulos">Ben Paulos</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/regulatory-assistance-project">Regulatory Assistance Project</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/americas-power-plan">America&#039;s Power Plan</a> </div>
</div>
Sat, 28 Dec 2013 00:43:02 +0000meacott16968 at http://www.fortnightly.com